A brassiere serves the primary function of providing support to a woman's breast tissue. A secondary, but often equally important, function of a brassiere it to bestow a perceived improvement in the presentation of a woman's breasts and bustline. At its simplest, a brassiere consists of a pair of breast cups which mold themselves about a woman's breasts and which are supported on the body by a harness. Typically, this harness includes a band surrounding the woman's upper chest and straps connecting from the top of the breast cups, passing over the shoulders and joining or merging to the band at some position along the woman's back.
The public presentation of a clad woman's bustline is a subject which, from antiquity to present has engendered interest in both men and women. Clothing lines are designed to not only accommodate a woman's bustline, but also to enhance the appearance thereof, even at the expense of comfort. The perception by an individual woman of her own bustline may be a source of pride, self-worth and empowerment. It also may be the source of consternation if her bustline does not meet her idealized expectations. While the natural achievement of an idealized bustline may be unrealistic, especially as a woman ages, the artificial fulfillment of such a desire has been pursued by various means.
The prior art is replete with brassieres which are designed to enhance the shape and size of a woman's breast. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,522,892 to Lin, issued Jun. 4, 1996 discloses a breast augmentation device composed of flexible rubber having a breast-shaped front part and a hollow, rounded rear part for covering a woman's breast. U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,330 to Greenberg, issued Mar. 24, 1992, discloses a breast enhancement brassiere wherein each of the cups is constructed with an inner pocket which receives a padding material, an outer pocket which receives a removable elastomeric member and a support wire, such that when the brassiere is worm, the wearer's breasts are lifted upwardly and inwardly towards each other for breast enhancement. U.S. Pat. No. 3,190,292 to Barnes, issued Jun. 22, 1965, discloses a bust forming brassiere comprising a pair of preformed bust cups composed of an organic foam material.
Breast-enhancing brassieres designed with artificial nipples also have been developed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,285,247 to Morin, issued Nov. 15, 1966, discloses a brassiere having a pair of padded breast cups consisting of a polyether or polyethyl foam material forming a conic configuration and having a layer of embroidered material in which there is a central opening through which a rubber nipple projects, each of the components being sewed to form a single unit. U.S. Pat. No. 2,563,241 to Herbener, issued Aug. 7, 1951 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,061,268 to Becker, issued Nov. 17, 1936 also teach the use of padded brassiere assemblies augmented with an artificial nipple.
Breast prosthetic devices in the form of a brassiere also are well known in the prior art, such devices having a formed breast cup and artificial nipple, examples of which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,136,027 to Jackson, issued Oct. 24, 2000 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,156,065 to Eaton, issued Dec. 5, 2002.
Despite the advances of the prior art, a need still exists for a brassiere which enhances the natural shape of the wearer's breasts. Such a brassiere should be create the illusion of an idealized bustline while providing comfort to wearer. In addition, such a brassiere should be provided with an artificial nipple integral with each breast cup in order to further enhance the idealized bustline. Further, such a brassiere should include an inner lining adapted to wick away perspiration and minimize chafing. Moreover, such a brassiere should be of simple yet durable construction to withstand multiple washings and normal use.